Is this wood worth the money?

[SourRoses]

I believe you, but I always find this a bit mystifying.

Unless I have juveniles playing on the roosts while the adults are out in the run, I never have poop on the roosts.

Maybe because they're round? Being wrist-thick natural branches.

Interesting! We always have poop all over our roosts, from many different breeds, and we have a variety of roost types. But none round or branches.

 

[Finally chickens!]

I just want to mention that "pressure treated" and "ground contact pressure" treated are two different things. We live where it rains 6' a year and have ocean air 365 days a year so we use ground contact always.

 

[Ozarkoak]

There is not a single piece of wood available right now worth the price. 2 or 3 years ago the exact same piece of wood would have been $3. But.. Not much you can do about it. If you need wood you need wood. I have started ripping 2x4 in half to make not critical type structures like wood sheds, mangers. 3 years ago I would have never even considered ripping studs. Our roosts are ripped 2x4 that have been sanded and rounded to remove any sharp corners. We have a large well house that was dilapidated it would have normally cost around $700 to rebuild nicely. It ended up costing around $3K.

 

[AmeraucanaHank]

I just want to mention that "pressure treated" and "ground contact pressure" treated are two different things. We live where it rains 6' a year and have ocean air 365 days a year so we use ground contact always.

There is not a single piece of wood available right now worth the price. 2 or 3 years ago the exact same piece of wood would have been $3. But.. Not much you can do about it. If you need wood you need wood. I have started ripping 2x4 in half to make not critical type structures like wood sheds, mangers. 3 years ago I would have never even considered ripping studs. Our roosts are ripped 2x4 that have been sanded and rounded to remove any sharp corners. We have a large well house that was dilapidated it would have normally cost around $700 to rebuild nicely. It ended up costing around $3K.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Becks Chicks]

We bought most of our lumber at Home Depot. You have to pick through them and find the ones that are straight and good quality on all sides. We probably rejected at least 75% of the boards they had. We used Douglas Fir 2x4s and not pine.

 

[StinkyAcres]

We bought most of our lumber at Home Depot. You have to pick through them and find the ones that are straight and good quality on all sides. We probably rejected at least 75% of the boards they had. We used Douglas Fir 2x4s and not pine.

Going to the store to pick through the lumber is a good idea. A few times I've ordered from Home Depot online and the employees picked out lumber that was warped, had holes where the knots were, and had missing chunks.

 

[gtaus]

I don't think modern (the last 20 years) treated lumber is all that toxic. They say you can use modern treated lumber in raised garden beds. However, it is still not allowed in Organic Farming.

Although I think OP has already bought some standard indoor non-treated lumber for his roosts, I just want to throw out another idea. Lately, I have been picking up pallets from our local Harbor Freight. Most of the pallets are normal size. However, some of those pallets are 8 and 10 foot long with excellent heat treated (HT) 2X4's as the stretchers/supports. As far as I know, the HT process only involves heat, and no chemicals. I would think a person could break down those pallets and use that wood in a chicken coop without any worry.

I would not use any pallets that have oil or chemical spills on the wood, but the Harbor Freight pallets I have been getting don't have any signs of that use. Anyway, if you are willing to put a little effort into breaking down the pallets, you can reclaim some useable wood from a pallet at zero cost.

 

[lleeme]

I grab pallets and the separators they use to prevent the nylon ties that hold them together from biting into the wood. Great for all kinds of projects. We had nesting boxes in the run and coop. Needed more room in coop so repurposed them into poop boards.

 

[KeepingDixie]

Before I began my build, two years ago, I wondered if it was safe to use PT wood in and around the chicken coop as well as my raised vegetable beds. I ended up not using it. I deferred to the American Wood Protection Association at the time:
https://awpa.com/info/technical/homeowners.
I also considered a product sold out of Portland:
https://timberprocoatingsusa.com/seal-garden-bed-boxes-wood-chicken-coops-bird-houses-dog-houses/ to coat my exposed lumber with.
I didn't do that either. I ended up sealing the ends with at least two coats of caulk or wood glue to prevent the end grain from sucking up the water/moister and painted several coats with low voc water based paint.
Either way there will be chemicals involved.
My coop is not in direct contact with dirt but, you know chickens: they manage to get dirt everywhere.
I suppose the environmental conditions are important to consider as well. I live in sunny and fairly dry California, so it might be a slower process on the wood rot. I expect it will happen at some point. Good excuse to build Dixie girl a new home if she's still kicking up the dirt ;P.
So far everything looks good except for the older redwood I salvaged from dad's yard. Those pieces are not critical to the framing so all is okay. If I had to I suppose I could cut them out and attach better pieces.

Good luck,
Dix's mom